Guard-rail-clamp.



v E. E., STRUNG.

GUARD RAIL CLAMP. l APPLICATION FILED DBO. 2,*1908.

Patented May 1l, 1909.

l 51m/vanto?,

' tain ne w and useful lm JAMES BooEMAN STRONG, 'or EILLBUEN, NEW YORK.

GUARD-BAIL CLAMP.

i Speceation ofLetters Patent.

Patented May 1 1, 1909.

Application led December 2, 1908. Serial' N o. 466,718.

To all wliom itl mary-concern.'

Be 1tl known that I, JAMES BooRMAN STRONG, a citizen of theUnited States, residing at Hillburn, in the county of' Rockland,

in the State of New York, have invented cer- Rail. Clamps, of whic the following is -a specification.

The object of my invention is to producen guard rail clamp of extreme lightness yet p'ossessing great strength and resistance to strain and which can be easily placed in a track with minimum interference with theties or ballast. Heretofore guard rail clamps have usually been made of cast metal, but owing to the size and weight of the rails now employed and the `terriiic shockreceived froml in section. Fig. 2 represents a plan viewv of the same. Fig. 3 represents an end view showing the yoke for holding the parts in ltheir proper relative positions.

The clamp late is formedfrom a rolled T- rail of a stan ard size determined by the location of its use which comprises a flange 1 and a' web 2 and is bent upward at the ends 3 to receive the other parts of the structure. The main rail 4 and the guard rail 5 are seated u on the. horizontal portion of. the clamp plate and have a suitable iiller block 6 between them. Spacing blocks 7 are placed between the ends of the clamp and the main rail and the guard rail respectively, and one of said blocks is provided with a beveled face 8 adapted to be engaged-by an oppositely beveled wedge block 9 seated between 1t and the end of the clamp plate. Said ,wedge block 9 is provided with perforations v1() to receive the ends of'a yoke -11 which passesv `under the web of the c1ai nplate and seats iny a groove or recess V.IZprevided therein.

rovements in Guarde' -points and subjects'the same to rupture un- .are for suitable means as nuts 13 may be provided for the purpose of forcing the wedge block 9 downward againstA the beveled'face of the block 7' and thereby hold the parts in their proper positions. l

In the process of bending over the ends of the clamp late the web thereof is drawn out at the bending lpoints indicated at 14, which nec.i a'ssa 1il},T wea ens the clamp plate at these ess an extremely heavy plate be used. In order to overcome this the ends of the web ed downward and form oppositely inclined bevels 15 and the metal is compressed or crowded down toward'the weakened bending points 14 so as to ill out the metal in the bends and render the web of substantially uniformi thicrness throughout its entire length. Preferably also the yoke which engages under the web ismade substfantially V-shaped and further tends to strengthen the clamp at this point. .By this construction an extremely strong and effective guard rail clamp is secured comprisingl a clamp plate formed of,rolled instead of cast metal and which can be readily and easily handled and placed'in position in the track without sacrificing anything with respect eitherto durabilitT or strength. The clamp can be eas-ily and readily assembled and can be as easily taken apart andreplaced or repaired. lt is' also extremely simple in construction, comprises a minimurnfof parts and can be, manufactured at relatively 'small initial cost.

`I claim as my invention. w 1- 1. A. guard rail clamp comprising a rolled T-section with a flange portion and/awel) portin bent upward at its ends to receive the main rail and the guard rail, the web portion being shorter than the flange portion and of substantially uniform thickness throughout.

2. A guard rail clamp comprising a rolled T-section witl a flange portion and a web portion and having its ends bent upward, the metal of the web. portion being compressed from the'ends toward the bent over portion thereof to strengthen the same, substantially as described. A

3. 'A guard rail clamp comprising a clam) late formed 'from a T-rail having its cnrs bent upward to receive the main rail and the guard rail, a 'filler block between the main Amil and the lard rail, and-means com rising This specification signed and witnessed i e. yoke for olding seid rails and b ook in this 24th day of November, A. D., 1908.

their adjusted positions, -the web of said 1 clamp plate being of substantially uniform' JAMES BOORMAN STRONG' l5 thickness thi'oughoutand rovided With s" 4SigI-ied in the presence ofgroove to receive the said y e,substa.ntially A. L. REILLY,

' as described;

L 'AMBBOSE L. lOSHEA. 

